The United Kingdom saw its largest viewing audience for a Eurovision Semi-Final last night on BBC Four.
Overnights.tv reports that a total of 617,017 viewers watched the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 live on BBC Four. The figure represents a small increase of 17,000 viewers over the same show in 2019 and the largest figure since 628,000 viewers watched Semi-Final Two in 2016.
Audience figures for Semi-Final One so far:
- Austria – 339,000 viewers – Share unknown
- Germany – 700,000 viewers – 4.1% share
- Italy – 535,000 viewers – 2.2% share
- Spain – 564,000 viewers – 3.6% share
- Sweden – 1,562.000 viewers – % share unknown
- United Kingdom – 617,017 viewers – % share unknown
Who is James Newman?
James Newman was born in Settle in North Yorkshire but is currently based in London. He is the older brother of singer John Newman. As a songwriter, James has written for several international artists such as Calvin Harris, Little Mix and Jess Glynne.
James was internally selected by the BBC to represent his country at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. He was due to perform “My Last Breath” before the contest’s cancellation.
Image Source: EBU / Thomas Hanses | Source: Overnights.tv
The United Kingdom debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 and holds the record for the most consecutive appearances in the contest. To date, the UK has won the contest a total of five times, with their first victory coming in 1967 and their latest in 1997. The UK holds the record for the most second-place finishes in the contest, having been runner-up a total of 15 times. Since 2000 the UK has finished within the top 10 only twice, this being in 2002 with Jessica Garlick and in 2009 with Jade Ewen.
